


The Whisper of Memory, The Promise of Dreams

by psiten



Category: Juuni Kokki | Twelve Kingdoms
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Presents, Yuletide 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:34:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28146174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psiten/pseuds/psiten
Summary: The Imperial Treasure Musafude, a miraculous brush which never runs dry of ink and which, some say, may change the color of its ink to reflect the disposition of the Glory King, is first recorded within the holdings of Kei in the seventh year of Sekishi's reign. No record exists of it in any other Imperial or noble palace, nor do the records in Kei list it among any gifts received by the Emperor at court. Its mysterious appearance was marked by rumors that spread from Kinpa Palace regarding its provenance, culminating in the popular myth often adapted to the stage of Sekishi defeating a crow spirit in poetical composition, taking Musafude as a prize.
Relationships: Enki | Rokuta & Keiki, Enki | Rokuta & Rakushun, Nakajima Youko & Keiki, Nakajima Youko & Rakushun
Comments: 7
Kudos: 16
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	The Whisper of Memory, The Promise of Dreams

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silailo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silailo/gifts).



Any day Rakushun came back from classes to see the seichou Youko had given him was a good day, even if he almost failed to notice the Taiho sitting in the window, dropping silver grains into the bird's food dish, before the Taiho noticed him.

Well, before the Taiho looked up, at least. The Taiho had definitely noticed him first. While Rakushun bowed, the words of a proper greeting still forming in his mouth, the Taiho said, "Just close the door. I wore my hat, so we don't have to be formal. And you can go change your face. I know how much you hate wearing pants."

"I'll be right back!" Rakushun declared, scampering away to hang the robes he wore for his appointment to serve under the Palace Archivist between semesters at the Academy. He did hate wearing pants, but he also wasn't going to fail to wear them to the Imperial Palace (or forego well over a meter he could gain in reach between taller height and longer arms for getting to files).

When he returned a moment later and jumped up on the stool to face the bird, the Taiho seemed almost as interested in the contents of Youko's letter as he was. "All right," he said, rubbing his hands. "Let's see if Keiki's as bad at keeping secrets as I think."

"Hello," said Rakushun, prompting the bird,

It ruffled its wings majestically, as if taking on some hint of Youko's own playful grace and natural elegance when it spoke with her voice. "Dear Rakushun... It seems so long since I've seen you! I hope your studies are going well in En, and that the teacher whose beard was singed has managed to regain his dignity..."

Master Irekuri's dignity had, if anything, swollen to defend his injured beard, but he wasn't going to discuss that in front of the smirking Taiho the nation of En. Rakushun had too much respect for his teachers to spread tales where someone might recognize them. But the friendly anecdotes and answers to his stories always left him smiling, and with a warm glow in his heart, almost as if the friend's voice he was hearing was in the room instead of leading another country so far away.

"... I can see the first buds forming on the magnolias in the courtyard. When they're in full bloom, it will be a sea of white so full, it will be hard to distinguish from the clouds. I remember how difficult it was in those first days, being sure where I could land around the Palace. Speaking of which, I think that Keiki thinks I don't know, but--

"Here we go," whispered the Taiho.

"--I'm certain he's planning something for my Ascension Day. It still feels a bit odd to say that... but I think Keiki is planning a party."

Rakushun looked at the Taiho, confused. "Isn't it normal to celebrate the Emperor's ascension?"

The Taiho bobbed his head from side to side in a vague, non-committal motion, gesturing at the bird who was sighing with Youko's voice in the unmistakable tone of an Emperor who knew what they'd said was confusing and was about to explain.

The bird who, then, started speaking with Youko's voice again. "Of course I'm aware of all the plans to observe it at court. Every year, they schedule a week where I have to get up at the tiger hour every day and the ladies will dress me in about fifteen layers of robes and put ten kilograms of wax and jewels in my hair so I can sit in the Grand Hall to receive envoys from every province. I don't know how they each manage to compose a different poem about my 'great deeds' every year, or what I'm supposed to do with so many thousands of yards of fine silk and so many golden braziers encrusted with rubies. I don't feel like there's a shortage. But I've talked to the Treasury Ministers and such, and I believe they're managing things appropriately, not hoarding it away."

While Rakushun, like Youko he supposed, couldn't imagine what to do with excesses like that, and found his mind couldn't even imagine them, the Taiho was snickering quietly. He looked at Youko's bird with a fond expression he usually saved for things like cats trying to decide if they could make a jump over a pond -- mostly before they fell into the water, and the Taiho pulled the indignant beasts out to carry them to where they'd meant to be.

Whatever the Taiho of Kei was planning, Youko was much more pleased about it than she was about the official Ascension celebration. "But Keiki has been up to something else," her voice rang out with a laugh. "Whispering in the kitchens and with the handmaids, directing some kind of floor plan that looks like a small party just for close friends. As soon as I come near enough to hear anything, he stands at attention and looks up at the nearest corner. He's trying so hard, so I'm not letting on that I know anything. I'll be the most surprised, whatever it is. It's so sweet that he'd do this, since he knows I don't like the big court galas. Sometimes I'm afraid to ask for things, like whether this world has a magic version of the self-inking brushes we had in Hourai because I'm still clumsy about using the inkstone and I have to throw out any decree I drop too many splotches of ink on. I know it's hard for him to say no, because of... well, because of a lot of things."

He hardly needed to say he understood. The Taiho of Kei would need some time to get used to having an Emperor who was his _partner_. The Taiho of En had a great deal to say about how that was the way a Kirin and an Emperor worked best together, and everyone _except_ the Taiho of En had a few things to say about previous Emperors of Kei, beyond what all people knew about Kirin.

"I'll be sure to tell you all about it," promised Youko through the bird's speech. "And let me know when there's a chance to visit for a week or two. I'd like to show you what we've done with the aqueducts since you made your suggestions to the architect. Stay well, and study hard! Your friend, Youko."

After the bird stopped speaking, Rakushun said, "Thank you!" and refilled its water so it could drink as well as peck at the silver grains the Taiho had put in its tray.

"I knew Keiki couldn't have kept it secret," the Taiho practically laughed out loud, waving a letter with the seal of the Taiho of Kei imprinted on the outside. "I got this about an hour before I saw the seichou flying in, with all of Keiki's plans for a secret dinner party thing that will supposedly be _not formal_. And he wants her friends to come, so that means I have to figure out how to get Shouryuu to bring a gift that _isn't_ overkill, and obviously you're invited."

"What?!" Rakushun gasped, because he knew he was friends with Youko, but he hadn't realized the Taiho of Kei would be willing to seat him with the Ever-King himself at an "informal dinner".

The Taiho of En narrowed his eyes and scoffed. "You think there was a world where you weren't at the top of the list? Anyway, we're all bringing gifts, but they have to be small things. Things for Youko, not things for the Glory-King."

He nodded, ears twitching because he had an idea. "Of course! I was actually just thinking, is it true that Hourai has brushes you don't need to dip in ink? Is there any reason such a thing wouldn't work here?"

The considering, curious look on the Taiho's face said that he'd never once thought about it, but they were about to find out.

~//~

> The Imperial Treasure Musafude, a miraculous brush which never runs dry of ink and which, some say, may change the color of its ink to reflect the disposition of the Glory King, is first recorded within the holdings of Kei in the seventh year of Sekishi's reign. No record exists of it in any other Imperial or noble palace, nor do the records in Kei list it among any gifts received by the Emperor at court. Its mysterious appearance was marked by rumors that spread from Kinpa Palace regarding its provenance, culminating in the popular myth often adapted to the stage of Sekishi defeating a crow spirit in poetical composition, taking Musafude as a prize.


End file.
